Imagine my surprise, entering a new city, reeling from the presence of green that could make Chicago natives jealous.  Located in a sub-tropical growing zone that closely parallels the Plant Hardiness Zone 10b (average low 41ºF), Buenos Aires was built on a marshy grasslands not unlike that of Chicago.

The Park systems and boulevards that give Buenos Aires its flare and elegance can be credited in great part to the visionary Frenchman, Charles (Carlos) Thays. Upon his in arrival in Buenos Aires in 1889, he immediately fell in love with the young country and proceeded to adopt it as his own and to instill upon it his vision,  Over 100 acres of public space were set aside in the late 1800’s to maintain a green space that would enhance city dwellers’ lives with no limits on how rich or poor the resident was.

Since Thays was a disciple of Édouard André, the famous French landscape architect, many call Buenos Aires “The Paris Of South America”.  In fact there was also a strong influence from the father of America’s Central Park, Frederick Olmsted, or so it was explained to me by the guides as walked me through The Rosedal on our city tour.  In the French tradition, Buenos Aires has boulevards and plazas that break-up the incessant grid of streets and buildings, while in the American tradition, Buenos Aires exhibits, an interest in species native to the region and a more naturalized presentation in parts of the parks.  Additionally the idea of having public spectacles in the parks, as one of Chicago’s renowned parks developer of the same era, Jens Jensen was so fond of, took place on an island in The Rosedals park.  Today there are attempts to revive that tradition.

The Rosedal Tour begins at the entrance to the park at the cross roads of Avenidas Presidente Pedro Montt and Iraola. The first most striking element that the visitor sees is the central path which pulls the eye all the way down the center of the park to the rose garden (Rosaleda).  But the attraction is not so great as to distract the visitor from the beautiful Patio Andaluz that is built off of the circumference path that borders the entire park.  This beautiful, traditionally southern Spanish-designed patio was first opened in 1929 as a gift from the city of Sevilla, Spain to Buenos Aires.  Recently restored, it is an exquisite example of the Andalusian syle.  Additionally the park is home to several sculptural works.  Included in The Garden of the Poets (Jardin de los poetas) is a beautiful pergola, with works by a student of Rodin and several other noted Argentinean artists.  Most spectacularly at the end of the central path is the Rose Garden.  Originally planted with over 14,650 rose plants, the Rosaleda was created by Benito Carrasco in a style to reflect Versaille’s magnificence.  Presently the garden contains over 1,180 different varieties of roses which are in the peak of bloom in late January.

Included with the tour is a well designed handout which gives a brief outline of historical and interesting information (in Spanish) and includes a section citing some of the different trees which are growing in the park.  Especially of note is the Palo Barracho or Silk Flower tree (Chorisia speciosa) which is a flowering tree native to Argentina and Brazil, and is often seen in zone 9 gardens in California.  Its bark has a unique prickle structure that gives it a Dr. Suess-like quality.  The Jacaranda (Jacaranda micrantha) has lovely lilac blossoms and fern like leaves that are beautiful even when the plant is not in bloom.  The tour guides even suggested that there are Jacarandas rumored to have survived Boston’s winters although they are officially listed as zone 9-10 for hardiness. And is commonly seen in Florida.  And the Ciebo or Cockspur Coral tree (Erythrina crista – galli) of the Fabaceae or Legume family, produces a flower of such unique beauty, it is officially the national flower of Argentina and the city tree of Los Angeles, California.

Due in part to the growing awareness of humanity’s need for green in its cities, the country of Argentina has recently adopted a National Botanic Garden Day which was first launched on October14, 2005.  And an on-going extension of that is the organization of guided tours called Geografias Urbanas available for free by the city’s Vivir nuestra ciudad (Our Living City) program.  This growing conciousness has also led to the on-going renovation of historical landscape sites in the country and has increased planting of street trees by the city.  We learned of the walks through the English newspaper, The Buenos Aires Herald, published daily and readily available at newsstands.  Guided tours are offered in the Argentinean summer months of January and February and include El Rosedal, Parque Los Andes and Parque Centenario, three of the larger parks in Buenos Aires.  A tour of each is offered with guides who are dedicated students of the University of Buenos Aires Masters Program in City Planning.  Our guides for the day, Andres Plager and Valerie Micou, were licensed landscape architects and designers, who provided a very enthusiastic outpouring of historical, horticultural and idealistic information.  Even if your Spanish is rudimentary, the guides’ basic English is good enough to satisfy most horticulturally enthusiastic travelers. 

As with many subtropical areas of the world, like our Florida, Buenos Aires offers many seasons of enjoyment, but if you can visit in their summer, you have the opportunity to enjoy the town for yourself while many Buenos Aireans are off on their summer holidays.  The bicycle tours are great for seeing more, but that’s an adventure for another day.  Be prepared to fall in love with “The Paris of South America” and be astounded by the unique sense of place that was created by the design sense of Carlos Thays’ vision of an emerald city.